The massive throne radiated with a holy aura despite its skull-shaped body and blood-red patterns. The sunlight—guided by an intricate system of mirrors to always hit it a certain way—made the patterns radiate as if they were flowing with blood.

Eztli rolled his wheelchair up the carpeted ramp with difficulty. His withered hands and arms cramped from use as he inched towards the radiant throne.

He rested a short while waiting for his arm to regain strength. He then clasped the armrests and pushed, trying to stand eyes filled with determination. He wanted to sit back on his throne. Feel like he did in his youth. His body, however, refused to support his weight and he crumbled back into his seat.

I can't even stand up anymore, Eztli thought, laughing at himself. This was what the great Blood Emperor had been reduced to. Blood Emperor, ruler of the world. Commander of legions that obeyed his every command, yet here he was unable to stand.

He sighed placing his hand on the throne—feeling its silky-smooth surface. The only thing he could do without asking for help.

He sunk back into his wheelchair feeling the exhaustion spread over him. Reminding him that he was dying. His four-thousand-year-old body—reinforced with years of training and qi—was at its limit.

The average human lifespan was one hundred and twenty years, but if one cultivated to the peak it extended to roughly four thousand. Even then, the body could not be maintained forever, at least that is what everyone believed. Not Eztli.

His reign would continue. He would become the Blood Emperor for eternity; his research proved it was possible.

He had spent countless years of his life and priceless resources to achieve the impossible. He developed a device that would extract the soul into a container where he could then transfer it into another vessel. That vessel—the immortal body, his masterpiece—would soon be completed. Just one last ingredient and I will leave this withered body and achieve immortality. That thought brought him happiness.

"Rhett," Eztli said.

"Yes, master?" Asked a shadow as it appeared in front of Eztli.

"Has there been any message from Wes?"

"The last message that we received from him was two days ago. He informed us that he achieved his mission and is heading back. We should expect his return by tomorrow at the latest." Rhett said bowing respectfully.

"Great!" Eztli said his mouth forming a grin, hands tightening slightly. One more day, he thought, then I'm out of this useless body. His mind drifted to his secondary research.

"What about the bloodline infusion experiment? Was it successful?"

Rhett shook his head. "Unfortunately, the experiment was a total failure. Almost all of the beasts infused with higher bloodlines died by exploding. We assume that the cause was their bodies were not able to withstand the change in their bloodline."

Eztli hit the armrest and nodded. Well, it was within my expectations. He had hoped, however, that there would be some type of success as it would benefit his new body greatly. It was unfortunate that no beast surviv-

"Rhett, what did you mean by almost all beasts died?" Eztli asked his eyes lighting up with hope.

"According to the reports, there was one beast that survived...although it showed no signs of change and its constitution remained the same."

Eztli smiled. That was all he needed. He could examine it and figure out how it managed to survive. Then he could replicate the process in other beasts furthering his research. He rolled his wheelchair down the ramp. "Take me there now, Rhett."

"Yes, master."

Rhett slowly approached the wheelchair. Eztli stared at the white-haired boy with amazement. His slender figure seemed to phase out of existence with each step. His eyes shining with a violet hue.

"Rhett, you have improved your understanding of the Spatial Flutter again," Eztli said praisingly.

"All thanks to your teachings, master."

"I will be teaching you again," he smiled. "Once I change into my new body."

"I would be glad to have master personally teaching me." Finally, taking hold of the wheelchair, he warned. "Master, please close your eyes as to evade the motion sickness."

Eztli did as he was told. He knew that with his current body condition—even if Rhett's control was immense and the Flutter was smooth—he would be greatly affected by the spatial distortion.

The air hummed around Eztli. His ears almost popped by the change in pressure, but he felt warmth surround him. Probably Rhett enveloping him with a spatial shield. The boy took too many precautions. The feeling was gone in an instant.

"You can open your eyes now, master," Rhett said.

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The smell of blood hit him hard causing his heart to beat faster, a small amount of blood qi being stimulated. He hadn't smelled so much carnage in a long time, he took a deep calming breath—settling the stimulated blood qi—and finally opened his eyes. He was not disappointed, it was indeed a carnage.

Servants cleaned the endless pools of blood—filled with pieces of organs and bones—that remained amid the shattered cages.

"Sorry master, I thought the servants were done cleaning the mess up." Rhett said with a frown. He raised his hand, probably to punish the servants, but Eztli stopped him.

"Don't worry about it. I can still manage to keep my qi under control." I'm not that useless...he thought. Although he knew Rhett was just caring for him. "Now, where is the surviving beast?"

"Over there, master." He said defeated.

Eztli's gaze landed on the beast he then beckoned a servant to bring it. A tall, broad shoulder servant noticed the gesture and quickly brought the beast to Eztli. He kneeled respectfully holding the tiny rabbit in his massive hands.

"This is a Sepir Rabbit, correct?" he looked at Rhett.

"Yes, this particular one was infused with Dire Wolf blood."

"Interesting," Eztli took the rabbit from the servant, who crawled away quietly, and continued to examine the scared little rabbit. Its fur was still white with faint blue tips no enhancement of nails, teeth or growth.

So, no change in its outward appearance, he thought. What about inside...

Eztli's fingers lit up, small tendrils of blood growing from the tips.

"Master, you shouldn't do-"

"Quiet Rhett!" he said coldly. He knew Rhett was just worried. He was in no condition to be doing something so strenuous as using his Blood Sensing Art, but he could not wait. He needed to know why this rabbit survived and if there was any change in his blood.

The tendrils merged into a sphere and floated down into the rabbit’s mouth. The rabbit squealed as it felt the Blood

Art take effect. Blood Arts required the user's blood to function. They could be used in a multitude of ways, even as far using it to heal another person at a price of some of the user's own life force. Blood Sensing was not a particularly difficult skill and it allowed the user to sense the smallest of changes—down to the cellular level.

Eztli was the last surviving member of the Blood Legacy Sect. When he was out on a mission it was attacked by a rival sect and eradicated. The surviving members had fled but were soon captured and killed. He had only managed to survive as he was locked in a maze cavern for ten years. He barely managed to survive by eating worms, roots and the refinement of his own blood. That was his darkest time, hungry, withered and longing for death, but in the end, he willed through and finally escaped the cursed maze. He obtained a Legacy which enabled him to take revenge for his sect and become the ruler of the realm. That legacy now belonged to Rhett—the Spatial Flutter.

The aura spread surrounding and inspecting the insides of the Sepir Rabbit. Sweat began to form on Eztli's body. His arms shook and his breath turned ragged. Just a bit more, he thought as he willed through the pain.

Finally, sensing the slight change in the rabbit's bloodline, he stopped the Blood Sensing Art. The experiment had succeeded. Although he did not know if the Dire Wolf blood could become the dominant one, until further testing, it was a step in the right direction.

Rhett quickly chanted his Blood Healing Art, easing Eztli's pain and recovering his stamina.

"Thanks, Rhett," he said softly.

"I am just performing my duties as your disciple, master. Did you find anything?" Rhett asked.

"There is a slight change in this Sepir Rabbit's bloodline. I need to make more tests, but it shall need to wait until the soul transfer is complete. This body doesn't have the required energy to run those tests."

"We could let Wes take a look at it..."

"No! I wish to perform this analysis myself," He continued. "Only I would know what to look for. That boy is too focused on attack arts."

"Understood, master."

Eztli grabbed and pet the scared rabbit, calming it down. "Take it and care for it until I can perform a complete scan."

"Yes, master." Rhett placed his hand on the rabbit and it vanished into his spatial ring.

Eztli nodded at the action, knowing that the ring was the safest place to store it.

Eztli felt weak, he could barely speak anymore. Damn it, he cursed inwardly. How I hate this withered body. Even with Rhett's healing, the small Blood Art had caused him to lose so much energy. He turned to Rhett and whispered, tiredly. "Take me to my chambers. I wish to res-"

The door slammed open and a female servant came rushing in frantically. "Lord Eztli, Wes has returned."